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PAN AMERICAN GAMES CLOSING CEREMONY: A MAGICAL EVENING FULL OF PERUVIAN FLAVOR
The Pan-American Games' grand finale took place in the National Stadium.
More than 50,000 spectators in the National Stadium and 400 million viewers worldwide enjoyed the unforgettable evening produced by the organizers of the Closing Ceremony of the Lima 2019 Pan American Games.
A magical evening full of Peruvian flavor was experienced in this ceremony, called “Dance of Diversity”, ending the sports celebration that brought the Americas together. Creative director Nikos Lagousakos, the talented production team of Lima 2019 and the prestigious Italian company Balich Worldwide Shows, world leader in the live entertainment industry, were responsible for this event.
All began with a parade where all the athletes gathered to walk around the National Stadium field, led by the Peruvian delegation and their medals. At the same time, the 41 flags of the Americas were shown. The flagbearer for Peru was Gladys Tejeda, gold medalist in marathon.
The spectators and athletes were thrilled to see a millenarian Peru represented in the Peruvian dances which quickly became the stars of the show. The dances were arranged by Fabricio Varela, director of the National Folkloric Ballet, featuring 955 artists on stage, including 893 volunteers.
Pepe Corzo, garment and props designer, oversaw the creation of 1,000 eye-catching costumes, which amazed spectators at the closing ceremony.
The music for the big farewell event was carefully selected by composer and arranger Lucho Quequezana, the musical director.
The musical section, called Adios, Lima (Goodbye Lima), told a love story, with elements of the Peruvian dance Marinera, but in an unprecedented manner. The extinguishing of the Flame was portrayed by a dance couple and the memories of their love story were shown in the form of beautiful pictures.
Underneath a spectacular chandelier of handkerchiefs, the couple performed the last part of their story. The female dancer blew her handkerchief to the air and the Flame died out. But just like a love that never ends, the Pan American Flame reappeared over them, transformed into a shiny chandelier, ready to come back to life in 2023.
Chile, which will be home of the Santiago 2023 Pan-American Games, took over as the next organizer of the Sports competition. Three of their best-known musicians performed at the closing ceremony: the Chilean duo Power Peralta, of brothers Gabriel and Raúl Peralta, and singer Francisca Valenzuela.
The ceremony paid tribute to the Peruvian jungle. The jungle soundscape called back all the cast and the most impressive work of Amazonian plastic artists was shown.
The audience at the National Stadium was delighted with the performance of Naysha and her amazing skill with the charango, a small Peruvian guitar. DJ Shushupe got all the participants dancing to her colorful rhythm as the ceremony came closer to its end.
The headline show was led by Peruvian singer-songwriter Gian Marco. He delivered a spectacular performance and a surprise for the live and TV audiences of the Closing Ceremony of the Pan American Games.
He first performed Lejos de ti (Far from you) and closed with Contigo Perú (With you, Peru). This heart-touching song was the surprise of the evening; the audience could not help but let their emotions out.